Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Lies of Wigs and Posters and attacks on Emunah

Several people have seen fit to share with me the latest rabbinical statement about “removing avoda zara from our camp”. Surprisingly this is not about removing YOGA, which has infiltrated almost every frum community and the slightest examination of which shows it to involve actual practice of non-Jewish Eastern religions. No, it’s time for another round of LIES, MANIPULATIONS, and pre-Rosh Hashana shaming over…sheitels aka wigs.

We once again have a supposedletter (presented as a poster) from many prominent rabbonim (rabbis) telling the (religious Jewish) community that X existing common action is dangerous to the community, them personally, and G-d. And once again we see the lies of photoshop and the attempted manipulation of the community by zealots posing as community organizers (askanim).

Sadly, what such posters and pushing them around the internet does today is DAMAGE EMUNAS CHACHAMIM, damage our belief in our sages. Why?…

The answer is…follow my rabbi and community. If I’m sephardi and a follower of those in the line of Rav Ovadiah, I’m not going to weir a sheitel. If I’m Chabad or a follower of the Rebbe, I’m going to wear a sheitel. And if I take one position or the other, I’ve clearly got on whom to rely. But the right answer is to “asay l’cha rav”, select a rabbi for yourself and go ask him.

BUT, BUT, the poster says…

#1 EVEN if one of these rabbis on the poster IS your rabbi, GO AND ASK HIM…because 90% of the time these posters are…

FAKED. Yes, people just grab the rabbis signatures and make up a poster saying whatever zealous thing they think is appropriate to push.

MANIPULATED. Today we clearly see from videos that people show up to the gedolim, shove a paper with signatures on it and say “sign here, other rabbis have”. Investigation, insight, holy Torah wisdom applied? Or just trying to get this guy out of his face?

#2 General pronouncement or specific ruling? Plenty of times we also see people come and ask a rabbi a question (videos on Youtube available) that’s specific for the asker’s circumstances…which is then run off and put on a poster as a general ruling. Does this situation apply to YOU? ASK your rabbi! Because it likely does NOT. (For example you are a wig wearer and your general community is not, but you’ll lose your job and your children will starve if you don’t…are you required to? That’s a question for your rabbi, not to be interpreted from a wall poster.)

#3 As Rav Kanviesky said, “if you didn’t hear it from me, don’t believe it” (that he said it). In the recent chicken controversy in Israel, it was reported (YWN) that exactly ONE rabbi went and investigated, going so far as to go to the chicken coops and personally examine, at length, the birds involved as well as gaining testimony. This is where the damage to emunas chachamin (faith in our sages) comes in… since we KNOW from Rav Kanviesky’s statement that posters with his signature can NOT BE TRUSTED to be true, we know have a reason to distrust things published in the name of our sages. And causing ANY distrust in our sages is a terrible thing.

#4 One of the leading sites/blogs pushing this poster was formerly written by a respected rav who personally told me he frequently consulted his rabbis and spiritual mentors before posting…to make sure (G-d forbid) that he would not cross the line into loshon hara or inappropriate direction to the public. Since that rav lives in Ashkelon, and the site/staff operating it now are out of Jerusalem, why exactly are they pushing a psak (ruling) out of Bnei Brak and Modiin Elit? WHY DO WE NOT HAVE A VIDEO STATEMENT from THEIR rabbonim, either the Melitzer Rebbe or Rav Arush, shlita, stating that they have investigated the issue and ruled this way? Or have the current site writers fallen for a poster?

#5 The poster specifically impinges upon the holy work of Mashgichim (kosher supervisors), declaring that they “simply can’t” do their jobs. That’s loshon hara, taking away someones livelihood, and damaging the reputation of klei kodesh (holy workers). If mashgichim can’t be trusted, how can we buy kosher food? How can we send our children to school and trust they will be taught holy topics?

In the not so distant past our holy rabbonim and chachamim and community leaders followed the wise demand of Gemora not to make a ruling that the community would ignore or not follow. Because one would merely turn the community away from G-d and His Torah (somewhat of the “hey, if I’m already a sinner” syndrome). Sadly the zealots pushing such posters don’t seem to realize (good eye) or perhaps don’t care (bad eye) about the damage they are causing.

Here’s my advice…

A. If you are concerned, ASK YOUR RABBI.

B. If it’s on a poster, it’s propaganda. If it’s on a poster with multiple rabbinical signatures, it’s lying manipulated propaganda.

C. Don’t get your spiritual direction or rabbinical advice from a wall poster. Because you’re merely being manipulated by the zealot of the moment.

9
comments:

Anonymous
said...

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.I want to comment on what you wrote about Lubavitch: If I’m Chabad or a follower of the Rebbe, I’m going to wear a sheitel. I recently came across an insightful sefer on Kissi Rosh according to the Lubavitch view. It's a must-read, and clarifies this topic really well.You can reach out to me by email for a digital copy of the sefer. BaruchLesin@gmail.com

This is the problem today before Moshiach's arrival - total confusion and chaos. Every day there are new chumros and new mishagasin. Instead of unity amongst all our obsevant brethern, there is anger, jealousy and pure hatred sometimes. The G-D fearing Jews must unite with one one heart and true allegiance to our Torah and, of course, to H' and love of our fellow Jews. We must unite as one so that we can overcome (with unity) the heretics such as the reformers, etc. who want to, literally, destroy Judaism. We have extremes today which are both wrong; either religious fanatics or G-Dless Jews. Both must return in teshuvah!G-D, Torah, Bnai Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael are one.

I know for a fact that the letter from Rabbanim and the facts on the ad are all completely true. I know the people who met with the Rabbanim and this post is truly an attack on a legitimate issue with the wigs.Rav Elyashiv ruled that any Indian hair in the sheitels is totally forbidden. These Rabbanim spent hours researching the topic and came to the conclusion that there is no way to give a hechsher on an industry that is completely corrupt. Most of the hair in the human hair industry does originate from Indian temple hair- if you took the time to read the info and emailed for the extensive report you would see this clearly. Did you bother doing that before you publicly slammed this letter and ad? Did you take the time to contact any of the Rabbanim that signed this letter before definitively declaring it false?? No, of course not! YOU are spreading loshen hora by accusing a choshuv Rav of posting sheker on his site! Rav Brody knows this is all true, otherwise he wouldn't have posted it. How can you just declare it all false when you haven't even looked in to it?It's on YOUR head if any women reads this post and decides that they don't need to take this seriously. In shamayim, it will be your fault if they wear a wig with Indian temple hair because they read your words how this is all a fraud.I would not want to be in your shoes.

Their Psak is the overriding authority for all the Ashkenazim. And ALL three Rabbonim have ruled that almost all of today's sheitels are forbidden on the grounds of looking too natural. (Permitted ones must be short, stiff, and look obviously fake).

The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l permitted jaw length short, stiff sheitels. Let’s look at what his Rebetzen wore….a short synthetic sheitel with a hat on top! Does anyone really believe the Rebbe would have permitted long, flowing, $4000 sheitels that make someone look like Madonna?

Also, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt"l ruled that Indian Hair is forbidden in sheitels due to Avodah Zora.

Can anyone reading this post claim to have more Halachic Authority than the Posek HaDor??

The psak and letter are 100% truthful. I personally know the people who brought the shailah to the above Rabbonim. It's not a fake!

Whoever wants to know the truth will take the time to read the downloadable material on LazerBeams at this website:

With only a few days to rosh hashana, and the enormous kavod of standing before The Melech HKBH - this information is a complete chesed. The ability to perform ratzon Hashem while wearing or even being near anything containing avoda zara or tumah would be a tradgedy. The detailed information found on the ad, is a bracha. We now have the ability to ask ourselves, our rabbeim and our leaders an informative shiala. Without this information about the wigs and the danger of their containing hair from avoda zara we would be in the dark. This is the zman to spread Hashems light. This is a magnificent ad a true chesed. It is imperitive for each of us to reivaluate our personal avodas Hashem. Years ago when the same tumah was discovered we did not think twice to remove our wigs and wear a scarf, now too we have the chance to make the right choice and fulfill Hashems Ratzon IYH.

The following was by email, a comment desired to be posted who can't reach the site to post...

Rachaeli wrote...

BH

I happen to be close to Rabbi Lazer Brody, the Melitzer Rebbe and Rabbi Arush shlita.

Rabbi Brody does not have to investigate the poster. The Melitzer Rebbe and Rabbi Arush are both absolutely against natural hair wigs and rule that they are ussur. His post is absolutely in line with their wishes. In fact there is NO major modern posek, Ashkenaz or Sephardic, who rules that natural hair wigs are permitted. Not Rabbi Elyashiv zt”l, not Rabbi Auerbach zt”l (who was personally quoted as saying that it was disgusting for him that he could not tell if a woman was covering her hair or not!) and not Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt”l – nor does Rabbi Kanievsky shlita.

Go look up the actual heter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l in his books. He permitted a wig since a woman was less likely to take it off among her friends! Does that heter apply to most Chabad women or otherwise today? If it doesn’t the heter doesn’t apply… and even then he permitted a wig like his Rebbetzin wore – short, stiff, fake and very clearly a sheitel unlike the wigs of today… which are forbidden even aside from the issue of Avoda zara (see first paragraph) as they are totally against the concept of tzniut – hiding one’s beauty to all foreign men, especially once married!

I'm very glad this has "hit the airways". After I married I wore a wig because it was what all women in my community did. What did I know then. After a couple years, I met via email a very frum woman in BayitVegan Who educated me about sheltels, the history, the terrible abandonment after WWI when many women threw off their sheitels, et al. Some time later when all this new info sunk in, I threw off my sheitel for a mitpachat (scarf or cloth covering). I am still in my mitpachat even though the women in my Haredi mixed area here in ERETZ YISRAEL wear wigs. How could anyone wear someone else's hair? Wearing a sheitel uplifts the feminine ego to where it does not belong. In fact after each new purchase of a new sheitel length which is mostly suggested by some sheitelmachers, next comes even shorter skirt lengths, tighter. We don't see this among the brave settler communities. Sorry to say mainly among the ashkenazi religious and some new immigrants from untsnius countries.

A mitpachat stimulates modesty within a Jewish woman's neshoma. This is where she needs to be to raise erliche frum boys and girls, and being a successful homemaker. Its a fact. I am embarrassed by this type of non-Jewish behavior.

This Indian hair thing is totally legit. If you're online anyway, you can look it all up. I started keeping track of sources, and they're in files all over my computer. The goyim in the hair Industry know all this mefurash and they laugh laugh laugh at us. Anyone who has "rejected" the idea that human hair sheitels are problematic has used very weak excuses, then they get on with their lives... things like, "well why is everyone doing it, then?" "I don't believe that!" "Not MY sheitel, Indian hair is like shvartza hair, mine is genuine European hair" Or the opposite, "Indian hair is meant to be very high quality, my sheitel was cheap!" I've spent hours and hours looking into this, speaking also with sheitel machers and sellers, as when I realised this is a real problem and the Rabbonim could come out with it any day, I thought of a friend whose daughter had just become a kallah, and thought at least I can try to help her find a legit completely Indian-hair free wig seller.... no such thing. The really high end wigs sellers like Clary's wigs said it themselves. There is no such thing as a wig where the hair is collected and supervised from ketzitza to purchase. NO SUCH THING. To be fair, I've been told that in E"Y there are places where you can bring your own hair and create a wig out of it. But you cannot just order it from anywhere.